69´«Ă˝

Blog

Your Education Road Map

Politics K-12®

Politics K-12 kept watch on education policy and politics in the nation’s capital and in the states. This blog is no longer being updated, but you can continue to explore these issues on edweek.org by visiting our related topic pages: , .

Education Funding

Return of Pet Projects in Congress Could Mean More Money for 69´«Ă˝ to Address COVID-19

By Andrew Ujifusa — March 03, 2021 3 min read
In this Jan. 4, 2020 photo, Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., speaks during a hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. On Thursday, Dec. 3, 2020, DeLauro was elected chair of the U.S. House Appropriations Committee by fellow Democrats, a position colleagues say will make her the most powerful politician from Connecticut in Washington in generations.
  • Save to favorites
  • Print
Email Copy URL

Federal funding for pet projects obtained by lawmakers for their states and local communities—what Washington commonly calls earmarks—are back. And their return to Capitol Hill could create a new avenue for school districts and some education organizations to fund projects to address the effects of the coronavirus pandemic.

Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., the newly installed chair of the House appropriations committee, (which she called “community project funding”) late last month. Earmarks function outside the regular, annual process through which Washington funds programs including special education and the Title I program for low-income students.

When it comes to education, earmarks haven’t necessarily been a huge source of funding in relative terms, but but that doesn’t mean they’ve been minuscule. In the federal government’s fiscal 2008 budget, for example, the U.S. Department of Education received funding for 945 earmarks totaling $383.3 million out of a $68.6 billion budget. That’s an average of $405,291 per earmark, if you’re scoring at home.

Earmarks come out of discretionary spending and are therefore funded at the expense of longstanding, popular programs like Title I. However, this year, there might be less of a fight for dollars, since Congress has more flexibility than in recent years to significantly increase education spending, said Sarah Abernathy, the executive director of the Committee for Education Funding, an umbrella lobbying group.

That’s because caps on discretionary spending that have recently constrained it won’t be an issue, meaning less of a zero-sum game between earmarks and other spending. (Read more about those caps .)

“If Congress is going to bring back earmarks, this is the year to do it,” Abernathy said. She added that in her view, there’s “nothing inherently good or bad about having earmarks.”

Past earmarks for education have funded everything from after-school programs to school construction. As schools respond to the pandemic, there could be a lot of interest in—and competition for—earmarked spending on things like upgraded HVAC systems, programs that provide extended learning time beyond the regular school day, and other needs. Abernathy said that’s “absolutely” her expectation.

DeLauro, by the way, also heads the House appropriations subcommittee for K-12 education spending. She’s led that panel since 2019.

Efforts to make funding for pet projects more transparent

Earmarks have a long and controversial history in Congress. Lawmakers put a moratorium on earmarks in 2011 after Republicans took control of the House.

Supporters say they can provide crucial and worthy support for things like local infrastructure projects, and can be useful negotiating chits when members of Congress are trying to pass important or prominent bills. Critics say they often fund wasteful projects and create a too-chummy, if not sleazy, climate on Capitol Hill that is far from transparent.

Here’s how the new process for earmarks will work: Groups ask their member of Congress for an earmark for a specific project (for-profit entities are barred from receiving earmarks directly). DeLauro said each lawmaker can submit up to 10 requests for earmarks. Lawmakers must post their earmark requests in an online, searchable database. And there’s a similar requirement for projects that are actually funded in appropriations bills. These requirements represent DeLauro’s efforts to make the process more open to the public and address the concerns about transparency.

Earmarks will be limited to 1 percent of discretionary spending, following a bipartisan committee’s recommendation. But in response to a question from Education Week, a spokesman for the House appropriations committee did not specify if that means Education Department earmarks specifically will be limited to 1 percent of the department’s discretionary funding.

Any earmark Congress adopts won’t be enacted until fiscal 2022, which officially begins Oct. 1. So earmarks won’t represent a fast injection of cash for schools to help with the coronavirus or other needs. However, Congress has struggled mightily in the last several years to pass spending bills on time; fights over funding the government have dragged on past the start of October for weeks or months, and government shutdowns have occasionally been the result.

If nothing else, Abernathy said, the return of earmarks might help with those negotiations and get Congress to pass spending bills closer to Oct 1.

Separately, the Senate will soon take up a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief bill that includes $129 billion in relief for schools; the House passed the bill last week. Learn more about what’s in that legislation for K-12 education here.

Related Tags:

A version of this news article first appeared in the Politics K-12 blog.

Events

School & District Management Webinar Crafting Outcomes-Based Contracts That Work for Everyone
Discover the power of outcomes-based contracts and how they can drive student achievement.
This content is provided by our sponsor. It is not written by and does not necessarily reflect the views of Education Week's editorial staff.
Sponsor
School & District Management Webinar
Harnessing AI to Address Chronic Absenteeism in 69´«Ă˝
Learn how AI can help your district improve student attendance and boost academic outcomes.
Content provided by 
School & District Management Webinar EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?
What issues are keeping K-12 leaders up at night? Join us for EdMarketer Quick Hit: What’s Trending among K-12 Leaders?

EdWeek Top School Jobs

Teacher Jobs
Search over ten thousand teaching jobs nationwide — elementary, middle, high school and more.
Principal Jobs
Find hundreds of jobs for principals, assistant principals, and other school leadership roles.
Administrator Jobs
Over a thousand district-level jobs: superintendents, directors, more.
Support Staff Jobs
Search thousands of jobs, from paraprofessionals to counselors and more.

Read Next

Education Funding Gun Violence Takes a Toll. We Need More Support, Principals Tell Congress
At a congressional roundtable, school leaders made an emotional appeal for more funds to help schools recover from gun violence.
5 min read
Principals from the Principals Recovery Network address lawmakers on the long-term effects of gun violence on Sept. 23, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
Principals address Democratic members of Congress on the long-term effects of gun violence on Sept. 23, 2024, in Washington, D.C.
Courtesy of Oversight Committee Democrats Press Office
Education Funding ESSER Is Ending. Which Investments Accomplished the Most?
Districts have until Sept. 30 to commit their last round of federal COVID aid to particular expenses.
11 min read
Illustration of falling or declining money with a frustrated man in a suit standing on the edge of a cliff the shape of an arrow dollar sign.
DigitalVision Vectors
Education Funding Explainer How One Grant Can Help 69´«Ă˝ Recover From Shootings
69´«Ă˝ can leverage a little-known emergency grant to recover from violence or a natural disaster. Here’s how.
9 min read
Broken piggy bank with adhesive bandage on the table
iStock/Getty
Education Funding A Funding Lifeline for Rural 69´«Ă˝ Is at Risk, and Not for the First Time
Rural schools near national forests rely on dedicated federal funds. But so far, lawmakers haven't renewed them.
7 min read
School bus on rural route, Owens Valley, CA.
iStock/Getty